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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Great Myth

Yeah, this week is going to be filled with wisdom I heard at the conference I attended over the weekend. I hope you read something inspiring.

Today's bit of wisdom happened in a casual conversation I had with Delacorte (Random House) editor Krista Marino (she worked on The Maze Runner and Forest of Hands and Teeth). Suzette Saxton and I were chatting with her about our agents and whatnot and Krista said something like this:

I think that's one of the biggest myths, that you have to have these amazing connections to make it in publishing, that you can't get out of the slush pile. But we see debut authors from the slush pile all the time.

That's not word for word, because I didn't have my tape recorder on me (I don't even own one yet!) and I heard a lot of great things. But that's the general gist.

So rid yourselves of the myth that you can't make it by writing a killer query and a strong story and then persevering.

What do you think? Can you go from no-one-in-small-town-wherever to published author? What do you think it takes to get there?

92 comments:

I think it depends. Some people are not great at queries, but are brilliant when you read their writing and meeting them in person. For others it's conferences. Still others, it's referrals. So, in a nutshell, I think it's best for each author to choose the avenue that will best show off their strengths and then play to it.

I think it raises an interesting point. There are few people I know who believe connections are all you need to garner interest of an agent, then editor - but I think few would disagree that it isn't advantageous to have that in. Still, that is heartening to hear. ;)

Oh, and I love what Deni said. I've often wondered if a query is only so-so if the agent (or their assistants) will actually read the sample pages enclosed. Some people simply don't write good copy and this is not necessarily indicative of poor manuscript writing. Given some of the blogs I've read from people in the industry I find it disconcerting to realize how many reject solely upon the query without ever reading any bit of the sample manuscript.

D'ya hear that?? I was clapping my hands together, *ridding* myself of the myth. Thanks for the advice.

Perseverance and the quest to find out who we are, not just the manuscript we are or want to write. I believe that's a fundamental aspect of breaking free...even from no-man's-land. It will come out in your query and ms. ";-)

An amazing keynote speaker at the PPW Conference, author Jodi Thomas, said she was about to give up getting published and happened to be sitting in a cemetery. She realized she was sitting on a square stone, and when she stood up, she saw the stone had 4 words on it: "Triumph comes through perseverance."

Hard work, some stubborn determination, the awesomest query you can write and a great hook! But also, I think it takes a dash of luck to make it big from the small-town-underdog land. It's like playing the lottery sometimes.

Determination, hard work, perseverance, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes... I'd like to think that's what will get us through. Of course, I'm sure it helps to know the right people. Thanks, though, for the quote... made me yell "Yeah!" and hit the WIP that much harder. I needed that. :)

I sure hope you are right! I'm just starting to work on my first novel (only about 3000 words done- really just started!) but I'm hoping that in a couple of months I'll have something worth reading and hopefully one day worth publishing!

It boils down to what I've always believed. You need to write well. Period. Whether it's a query letter or your manuscript, poor writing cannot be overcome by a great personality or the best connections.

At least I hope this to be true, since I am seeking to improve my writing daily.

and .. yes, it does happen. but, I think it is a longer road. I was pulled from the slush 4years ago and that editor sat on it and did 'uncontracted revisions' for two years before getting laid off. It wasn't wasted time because I learned so much, but it wasn't the best use of my time, either.

connections surely won't hurt you, but you're right, the tales of success from nothing are what keep us all going. even the best connections in the world won't get a boring story, poorly written into print.

It depends on the house policy as to whether "unsolicited" (i.e. unagented) submissions will be considered by the publishing house, and whether, therefore, the slush pile submissions get read. If the house policy is "we don't accept unsolicited submissions," then you should not be surprised if there is no response or a form decline.

It depends on the house policy as to whether "unsolicited" (i.e. unagented) submissions will be considered by the publishing house, and whether, therefore, the slush pile submissions get read. If the house policy is "we don't accept unsolicited submissions," then you should not be surprised if there is no response or a form decline.

I left you an award on my blog today (I know you really needed another one.) Anyway, this one is for being a blogger who inspires and encourages others, and I couldn't think of anyone who deserves it more. Thanks!

Tracy - very true re idea/writing quality being paramount. The corollary to that is finding others who will properly value our work, which bring us full circle to the importance of finding and marketing ourselves to agents, publishers, and our readers. Work of quality deserves notice! Good luck to us all...!

I think connections definitely help - but there are soooo many examples out there of people with no connections, just average joes who wrote a book, queried, got rejected, and finally found success. Didn't John Grisham once sell self-pubbed copies of one of his books out of the trunk of his car before finally getting some attention? J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer....I could be wrong but I don't think they did anything different than what most of us are doing. And look where it took them. :)

It's like most any other occupation. Knowing people certainly can't hurt -- connections can get you past closed doors. But aside from talent and self-confidence it's like everyone else has been saying: perserverance, persistance, hard work, and positive outlook. Some creativity in marketing and innovative self-promotion also can help.

I think if you take the time and the work that is required to make your idea brilliant that anything is possible. Take the criticism and information and choose what you think is best, send out query letters, recieve rejections. One day you will receive the acceptance and that will be the day you know you did it!

It is encouraging to think it can happen. You hear so many horror stories about the slush pile that you come to believe that no one ever reads them, and if anything they are just a handy place to rest a cup of coffee. But really I think if you write a strong story with a sparkling query, then good things will one day happen. :)

Absolutely, I think we all can make it! I've heard so many true stories of writers making it out of the slush pile that I've never believed that myth. People who think you can't get out of the slush pile just don't want to work hard enough!

Anything is possible. I like watching Biography because many of the famous people didn't start out famous. Some even started out with really tough circumstances. Julie's husband in Julie and Julia said it best, "Julia Child wasn't always JULIA CHILD."

I really like hearing that from a real New York editor. It gives me hope. Even though I'm not really submitting to big New York editors or even agents at the moment. I know both Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells were pulled out of the slush pile before they even had agents! That just makes me happy.

I'm hoping I can go from small town nobody to big time published somebody. What do I think it takes to get there? A sprinkle of talent. A dash of spunk and a whole pot load of hard work. Of course writer friends and mentors that encourage us along the way helps too.

People do make it out of the slush pile - but it is rare. Rare, but possible. I love Krista though, isn't she so cute? Was she wearing cute shoes again? She had the cutest shoes at the BYU conference last year. Anyway... don't mind my random tangent. I have this thing about cute shoes...

I sure as hell hope you can go from small-town-wherever to breakout author or however you said it because I live in a tiny town in a state so not in the realm of publishing and no one here reads. Okay they do, but not, like, good stuff. And so I am hanging onto a threadbare little dream that I can write a book or two or three or can I go Lowry here and write a million beloved books and maintain my small-town-middle-of-nowhere status? Because I'd sure like to.

i read don't give up until you have queried 50 times...even then it might be your letter...not your idea, or text. i hate that most agents (email queries) don't even respond! it's discouraging after awhile...i am on query number eleven...

Hey, it was great meeting you at the conference. You were my boot camp instructor (in case you don't remember me--which you wouldn't from my picture). Your query class and insight into my writing seriously changed my writing. So thanks! And now you have another blogstalker. :-)

Jumping out of the slush pile definitely happens, but connections certainly can't HURT--and they can help. No reason to ignore either side of the equation, since you never know where your personal break will come from.

I believe that great writing is what gets you accepted, but my experience is that great writing requires great connections. It's not likely that a person who doesn't make an nurture connections - at least with other writers - will ever have their writing become great.

To put it another way, just about all of the quality that may or may not be in my writing has come, in large part, from things I learned through the connections I have made.

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